The Rotary Club of Saint John was pleased to host their annual gala on Friday, May 24th at the Delta Marriott Hotel.
During this extraordinary evening, Saint John Rotarians honoured Mr. Arthur Irving and Mr. Glenn Cooke with the Paul Harris Fellowship.
Irving Oil chairman Arthur Irving, left, and Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke were presented with the Paul Harris Fellowship,
the Rotary Club's highest international honour, during an evening awards gala at the Delta Marriott Hotel on Friday.
( Photo Courtesy of the Telegraph Journal )
N.B. Business Titans Honoured with Fellowship
Fallon Hewitt | Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN • Two of the province's most renowned business titans were honoured Friday for their positive impact on the lives of New Brunswickers.
Irving Oil chairman Arthur Irving and Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke were presented with the Paul Harris Fellowship, which is the Rotary Club's highest international honour,
during an evening awards gala at the Delta Marriott Hotel. The fellowship is presented to people who are "true examples of giving back" and acknowledges service above self,
states a press release from Rotary.
The award, named after Rotary founder Paul Harris, honours outstanding contributions to the community.
Speaking to the selection process for fellowship recipients, club president Corey Childs said they base their decision on those who have made a difference in the lives of at-risk youth and seniors.
“Both Mr. Cooke and Mr. Irving have clearly demonstrated service above self in both of those avenues for our community,” said Childs. “We’re looking at the big picture.”
Arthur Irving grew up in Saint John and worked with his father, K.C. Irving. In 1972, he became president of Irving Oil and currently serves as chairman of the family-owned and privately held company, the news release said.
Irving Oil is Canada's largest refinery and employs more than 4,000 people.
Speaking to the Telegraph-Journal before the gala, Irving said he was honoured and thankful for the recognition.
“I’m really happy to be honoured by the Rotary Club,” said Irving. “I’m really honoured to share the honour with everyone that works for the company and Glenn Cooke, who is a great guy, doing wonderful business around the world.”
Irving also noted how proud he is to live in Saint John and the pride he sees in his employees and community.“We’ve got a lot of wonderful people in this area, a lot of them work with us and we are proud of each and every one of them,” said Irving.
Irving has served for 30 years on the Board of Directors of Ducks Unlimited, served 14 years as Chancellor of Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., supports student scholarships at numerous universities and is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of New Brunswick.
Cooke established family-owned Cooke Aquaculture Inc. in 1985 with his brother Michael and their father Gifford.
The company has experienced aggressive growth and is now the world’s largest private seafood farming corporation, with operations in Atlantic Canada, U.S., Chile, Scotland, Spain, Honduras and Nicaragua, the news release states.
The Cooke family of companies now employs more than 9,000 people worldwide.
Noting the pride in being recognized alongside Irving, Cooke said he was accepting the award on behalf of the entire company, whom he said have made his dream possible.
“It feels incredible for our team and what I call our corporate family,” said Cooke. Carrying on the legacy of the fellowship itself, Cooke said he wants to continue giving back any way he can.
“I’m a big believer that you have to give back and I want to continue doing that,” said Cooke. “As a company family, I want to give back whether that's helping in floods or helping the local food bank, we want to be there.”
Cooke was inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame in 2009 and Cooke Aquaculture’s employee loyalty reaffirmed them as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for the 14th consecutive year.
Lisa Keenan, one of the presenters for the evening as well as chair of the board for Port Saint John, spoke to the philanthropy of both Cooke and Irving before the gala.
“The honorees this year have never said no to a cause that I’ve called them about,” said Keenan. “They’ve always been open. They are fantastic examples of people who donate a lot of money and time to causes they believe in.”
Keenan, who has worked alongside both Cooke and Irving, said the two are incomparable. “They really are unmatched in their devotion to the community of Saint John and the surrounding areas,” said Keenan.
Other Paul Harris Fellows include U.S. President Jimmy Carter, astronaut James Lovell, Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine, and New Brunswick's Becca Schofield, who launched the #BeccaToldMeTo social media campaign.